What to feed a rooster and hens?

[crazy4daisy]

Okay, I have 4 pullets and 1 rooster. Do I feed them breeder feed, or do I feed layer to them all? Will the layer feed hurt the rooster?

 

[Rooster01]

I feed layer to them all. It won't hurt the rooster. Its just a little more expensive since he won't produce eggs. If he's in a pen by himself, you can just feed him scratch feed or corn with some laying mash mixed in for protein.

 

[speckledhen]

Another alternative is to feed them all a general purpose poultry feed, like Purina Flock Raiser Crumble or Southern States Rooster Booster pellets and add oyster shell free choice in a separate feeder for hens of laying age. That way, there is no excess calcium for the rooster, who really won't give the oyster shell a second glance. I've started doing that since for awhile now, I've had a flock of mixed ages. When I have hens all of laying age, I usually mix the Rooster Booster with layer pellets.